PRACTICAL HOME SECURITY 101
It has occurred to me to share these things because we all have a general idea of good practices to look after ourselves, but we (also generally) don't put them together or have them in mind. They apply anywhere in the world, they’re not complicated, you don’t need any special skills, but they’re good to know. Especially in a community where we actually do need to look after ourselves.
So you need a way to talk to each other. COMMUNICATION IS VITAL. We have a WhatsApp group and although there is a lot of chatter, it’s excellent because its silent and everyone who should get the messages and is on it, gets the messages instantly and simultaneously.
We need discipline on the group. Not politics or religion or urban legends or jokes or cartoons or general chatter. Its serious.
If you own a gun, and you aren’t at proper shooting practice once a week, you’re a danger to yourself and your friends and neighbours.
GOOD INFORMATION is the best weapon in the world. Don’t ask James Bond (he actually doesn’t exist) – ask any security service in the world.
If you have good security, anyone who means to do you any harm will learn about it, and that’s actually good. Have visible security, AND INVISIBLE SECURITY.
This may sound mean or sneaky, but have visible security that looks better than your neighbour’s; a respectable thief wants to get in and out as quickly as possible.
Good thieves are not impulsive: they’ll check out a property for days before they strike. They’ll watch the coming and going of the occupants. Get the pattern, as it were. Ring the bell, on all sorts of pretexts, to figure out whose there and when. The guy who checks it out may not be the guy who breaks in. Builders working nearby, gardeners and other employees are all a risk. Builders nearby are a real red flag. Passing pedestrian traffic – how much? Time of day? Familiar faces?
ANECDOTE:
A man is walking down the road. Every couple of metres he puts his hand in his pocket, pulls out a little square of paper, and drops it on the ground.
A man is walking behind him and gets more and more angry.
“Excuse me!” He shouts, “You are littering! What do you think you are doing?”
“I’m not littering” says the man in front, “I’m scaring the pink elephants away!”
“What are you talking about, you lunatic?” shouts the man behind, “there are no pink elephants!”
“See? – It’s working!” Says the man in front.
MORAL OF THE STORY:
No matter how clever, sharp, strong or well-trained you are, you just never know …
Sun Tzu, the ancient Chinese author of THE ART OF WAR, said that the best form of military campaign is to persuade your enemy not to fight. You lose no manpower or equipment and you save yourself for another day. Think what’s been going on with the nuclear powers for the last 40-50 years.
Practical security is your first – and essential - step. All sorts of physical stuff is available but it depends how much you are prepare to spend:
Hide a can of Mace or similar (out of sight and out of reach of children) as close as possible to every door that leads to the outside of the house.
Install good, strong burglar bars all around.
Alarm system, linked to an armed response company (older folks, make sure that they are also linked to an ambulance system and the house occupants should carry panic buttons on a necklace).
Keep your cellphone at hand. Its no earthly use to you if you're in the front garden and the phone is on your bedside table.
Infra-red movement sensors inside the house.
High walls or palisade fencing topped with razor wire. I’m not sure that electrifying the wire actually helps. The kind of people who do home invasions overcome the electrification easily. They also have no respect for a picket fence boundary demarcation. They must be stopped physically! Every time! Remember that for the average South African thief, your garden is a public open space.
Sliding gates are nice, but they’re easy to lift out of their tracks – and the electric motors also make a nice target. In Jo’burg, thieves arrive in a pickup truck, throw a nice strong chain around the motor and the tow hook, jerk the motor out of the ground and add it to whatever else they steal. Sliding gates also make nice scrap metal.
Your roof is a good and easy way to get into your house: I have seen cases where people have filled the roof with coils of razor wire but it’s not foolproof. I had a client in Pinelands who lived alone but he was an avid gun collector and had all of the above security. Thieves broke in through the roof, killled him, and got away with the guns, which had been locked in different safes. Beams or cameras up there might be a good idea.
I have read an analysis by a criminologist (long ago, when we had law and order) which concluded that in SA, only 5% of criminals were caught, brought to trial, found guilty, and punished. For the rest, fear is the best deterrent.
Cameras are good if there are enough of them, and they are effectively placed and linked to movement sensors and recorders and monitored 24/7. Even better if they’re internet-linked to people’s cell phones. NEVER SWITCH OFF YOUR CELLPHONE – its your lifeline (but you knew that … )
If you can get a street committee together you can raise funds for street cameras linked to armed-response or a key person on the street committee.
Gone are the days when only spoiled brat children had cell phones. EVERY CHILD WHO CAN READ SHOULD CARRY A CELL PHONE. They can be set to only phone ma, pa, granny and oupa, and the phone should have geo-tracking switched on. The same applies to grandparents!
When arriving home after being out –
If you have the time, just drive one circuit round the block, keep your eyes open and see if you see anything out of place.
When you get back to your house, don’t drive into the driveway. First see if you can see any other cars within 200 metres. If you can, wait for it to pass or satisfy your self that there’s no-one in it.
Park but don’t switch off the engine;
Don’t get out;
First check out what you can see of the house
If –
Anything looks “funny”; or
The alarm light is on; or
The house or garden lights are on in the daytime; or
The driveway gate or pedestrian gate is hanging open; or
The front door/patio door/windows are open (even if burglar barred) (did I actually have to say that?);
The tiles on the roof look like they’ve been disturbed;
A dog who is usually there, is missing, (or dead, or displaying some kind of unusual behaviour) (did I actually have to say that?);
A tap is running in the garden (or missing) (did I actually have to say that?)
Your refuse bins have been tipped over or are missing (wheelie bins make good transport – and often are – especially for stolen goods. You see a guy walking down the road with a wheelie bin – I’ll bet you’ve thought of asking him to show you what’s in there);
If all’s OK open your gates, reverse in and immediately close your gates.
If there’s anything questionable about any of the above, call your armed response company, drive a little distance away from the house and watch and wait for them to arrive from there. Don’t argue with them and listen to their instructions.
When driving into your driveway, reverse in so that your car is facing out.
Remember that most heroes die.
Finally, it’s a good idea to microchip your dog/s. And your child/ren.
These are the crimes committed within 500 metres of our house in our street in the last 28 days:
4 September – Robbery on c/o Tijgerhof and Daniell Rd
5 October – Attempted break-in at *
6 October – Break-in at *
19 October – Copper gard.en tap stolen at *
29 October – Break-in and car stolen at *
No culprits arrested
Its OK if your friends say you’re paranoid. You aren’t. You’re careful!
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© HARRY FRIEDLAND – “MARIMBA” 1 Nov 2022
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